The Business of Education

December 1999 – Vol. 3, No. 3, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada

1999-12-10 - ech the Halls
It’s what they really want. Can you afford it?

As the economy continues to soar, the twin towers of retail success — cash and confidence — have consumers spending big bucks on high tech toys, from Pokémon to Palm PDA’s. According to Marketing Professor Ken Wong at Queen’s School of Business, this techno-trend has resulted in:

A change in gift-giving habits — group gifts are now the norm to help pay for big ticket items
An additional need for new products and services (i.e. high speed Internet access, satellite TV etc.)
New forms of marketing, including Internet advertising and "permission marketing"
More user-friendly consumer electronics that are a threat to smaller, service-oriented retailers

INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY:
Talk to Professor Ken Wong to find out:

Why tech toys for all ages are so popular this year
The hottest gadgets for kids, teens and adults
Who stands to win from increased demand for high tech gifts, and who stands to lose
The latest trends in holiday gift marketing
The one gift that no technology can replace

Year-end bonuses
Reward or entitlement?

As the end of the calendar year approaches, you may be eagerly looking forward to a year-end bonus from your employer. But if you don’t get what you expected, who should you blame? Probably yourself, according to Dr. Tony Dimnik, a seasoned management development professor at Queen’s School of Business, who says:

Employees should state their bonus expectations up front and throughout the year — not at bonus time!
Year-end targets are giving way to quarterly measures and sophisticated all-inclusive reward packages
Employees shouldn’t feel entitled to bonuses (regardless of performance) but bosses shouldn’t treat them as gifts
The best companies set "stretch targets" for their employees

INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY:
Ask Professor Tony Dimnik about:

How employees can avoid disappointing bonuses
What the latest compensation trends are
Whether bonuses should be fixed or discretionary
How employers can improve performance with bonuses
Which companies use bonuses most effectively, and why
The do’s and don’ts of negotiating your own bonus

should Santa GO ON-LINE?
The pros and cons of "santa.com"

For years, Santa Claus has managed to "process and fulfill" millions of gift orders without a hitch. But perhaps it’s time he consider a little help from e-commerce technology. Dr. Darren Meister, a professor at Queen’s School of Business and an expert in the technology issues surrounding supply chain management, provides this insight into the pros and cons of Santa Claus becoming the world’s biggest "e-tailer":

Santa’s excellent distribution system (supplied by 12 tiny reindeer) provides him with a strong e-commerce infrastructure
An on-line catalogue would help children who can’t write and eliminate translation problems
Order changes could be processed much later than the usual deadlines imposed by the postal service

INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY:
Interview Dr. Darren Meister and find out more about other supply chain and e-commerce issues including:

Are Canadian retailers prepared to handle a massive increase in holiday on-line shopping?
Have Canadian retailers kept up with the global e-commerce wave? Are we leading or lagging?
What factors have the most impact on a company’s ability to use e-commerce?
How are companies using strategic partnerships to accelerate and improve their e-commerce capabilities?

Internet stocks:
Are visions of profits dancing in your head?

Blast off or rip off? You want to be a millionaire by getting rich quick off hot Internet stocks — but how can you tell what’s a good deal? And how do you choose an Internet stock to invest in when there’s little information available, often negative earnings, no dividends and wild price fluctuations? Ask Dr. Lew Johnson, whose current research focuses on assessing the value of technology stocks, particularly Internet stocks.

Using the most current data available, Professor Johnson and a colleague have closely examined 100 of the largest technology stocks. According to his research:

The old standards of valuing stocks do not appear to apply to Internet stocks While the prices of tech stocks in general are not irrational, Internet stock prices continue to defy explanation
The best way to determine which tech companies will be successful is to see who’s investing in R & D today

Interview Professor Lew Johnson to find out more!

QUEEN’S MBA THREE-PEATS!
Ranked #1 for 3rd straight year

For the third consecutive year, Queen’s MBA for Science & Technology has topped the rankings of Canadian MBA programs by Canadian Business magazine. The annual analysis measures MBA programs across Canada to determine which schools offer students the best salary bang for their tuition buck. The numbers don’t lie...

As of August, 94% of the Queen’s Class of 1999 had job offers in hand, with an average starting salary of $78,175 (not including signing bonuses).

INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY:
Interview Dr. John Gordon, chair of Queen’s MBA for Science and Technology to find out about:

What employers look for when they hire grads
Why so many Canadians are attracted to MBAs
The difference an MBA can make in a person’s career
How business education programs have changed recently
How today’s students are different from those of the past
Queen’s recipe for success in an increasingly competitive MBA marketplace

Need an Expert?
Queen’s School of Business is Canada‘s leading business school, with experts available to comment on virtually every business issue. To arrange an interview, please contact:

Dan Tisch or Josh Cobden
(416) 920-9000 ext. 260 & 275
dtisch@pr.environics.ca & jcobden@pr.environics.ca

OR

Laurie Ross
(613) 533-2319
lross@business.queensu.ca